This invention relates generally to detachable electrical connections, and more particularly, to a detachable connection between a wire and a conductor of a circuit board.
The development of heavy duty electronic components having high current carrying capacity, such as high voltage switching transistors, has caused a corresponding increase in the currents which must be controlled safely in circuit boards, such as printed circuit boards, on which such components are mounted. One of the major problems in the state of the art pertains to the connection of supply lines to the conductor laminations of such circuit boards. Oftentimes, such supply lines must have a cross-sectional area which is sufficient to conduct currents in the range of 50 amps, and more. In commercially available circuit boards of the type mentioned herein, the connections between the supply lines and the conductor laminations are generally achieved by wave-soldered cables, or by pressed-in and wave-soldered threaded inserts to which the supply line conductors are screwed firmly. It is a problem with such arrangements for supplying high powered circuit boards that the contact resistances are relatively high. Thus, during periods when large currents are flowing, excessive temperatures are reached in the region of the contact causing excessive temperature stresses in the circuit board and its conductor laminations. In addition to the foregoing, the rigid connection of heavy wiring or cables to the circuit board produces bending stresses which can eventually result in failure of the circuit board.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an arrangement for detachably connecting a supply line to a conductor lamination of a circuit board such that only a low contact resistance is produced.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a mechanical connection between a wire and a conductor lamination of a circuit board wherein only small mechanical stresses are produced in the circuit board in the region of the connection.